


Alone Time

by JamesBranwen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Crow!Qrow, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Secret Relationship, not really proofread, set sometime in volume 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 11:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22969534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamesBranwen/pseuds/JamesBranwen
Summary: Qrow and James get their first moment alone since Qrow's arrival in Atlas.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/James Ironwood
Comments: 2
Kudos: 106





	Alone Time

**Author's Note:**

> i bring ironqrow in these trying times. when do i not? hope you enjoy this short and sweet piece.

"You're sure nobody is going to bother us? It seems like you're always needed somewhere else," Qrow sighed, leaning against a pillar in James' Atlas Academy office. 

"I'm fairly certain. I have some paperwork to sign off on, then I'm all yours. Now come here Qrow, let us have an extended chest bump," James said, his mouth curved into a small smile. 

Qrow chuckled and pushed off the wall, saying, "The only thing I missed more than seeing your face was hearing your way with words."

James rolled his eyes at the sarcastic remark and held out his arms. Qrow happily obliged, wrapping his arms around to rest on the small of his lover's back. James hugged him back, feeling the pleasant weight of two chests pressed together. Sometimes Qrow was annoyed by how many layers James wore, but he had to admit it made for great hugs. 

"I missed you," James murmured into his lover's hair, breathing in the scent that was after all this time still unmistakably  _ Qrow _ . Ebi had insisted that Qrow stay with the Ace-Ops, and James couldn't come up with a plausible reason against it. He thought it would be good for Qrow to make friends with them, and he didn't want to give away their relationship. While James didn't have a problem trusting his team with knowledge of his sexuality, he didn't want to unnecessarily disrupt the order of the group or for anyone to think his relationship was influencing his major decisions. Qrow understood. He was not an outright liar but he did keep a lot of secrets. What was one more? 

Still, Qrow's mood was a little soured by the fact that he'd waited over a year to see the love of his life again and he barely got a moment alone with him. He held on tighter, like if he didn't James might disappear again and he might be alone. 

After several long, comfortably silent moments James finally broke away. He held Qrow by the shoulders and stared into deep red eyes. They never reminded him of anger or stress as many red things did. Instead he just saw Qrow's passion, attention, and power reflected back at him. 

"I think I'm in love with you," James breathed. 

"You think?" Qrow snorted. 

James rolled his eyes again, but the smile remained on his lips. He finally let go of Qrow and made his way back to his desk, Qrow following right behind. James sat in his big chair and Qrow made a spot for himself criss-cross on the floor. As James shuffled some papers, he looked down at Qrow and said, "You don't have to sit down there."

Qrow scoffed and gestured to the rest of the General's office. James hummed and followed Qrow's motions with his eyes, scanning the dark room. There wasn't another seat in sight. He pressed his lips together. 

"You can sit here, we both fit" James said, patting his thigh. Qrow made a sound that was half laugh, half disbelief. He shook his head but took the offer up anyway. He would take every excuse to be close to the General again. 

The pair settled in, content with their proximity. James kept working, arms wrapped around his long-lost lover. Qrow was slightly bitter that James was tall enough to keep working even with him in his lap, but he didn’t complain. He admired James’ signature, watching the soft looping print scrawling onto the paper, followed by a harsh line to cross the J. The way he wrote his name was a lot like James himself, he thought. The cursive: practical, refined, and soft, with a harsh side if he was crossed. Qrow shook his head.

“I think I think too much,” he said.

Qrow felt James’ breath on his neck as he exhaled a short laugh. “I have never related to you more,” James said. He scribbled his name onto a few more bold lines and finally set down his pen, huffing a sigh of relief. He pulled Qrow back into an embrace and said, “Ok, all yours.”

Qrow flipped around so he was facing James with legs on either side of him. Hands slid down James’ chest and rested on his waist. He leaned forward so their foreheads were touching. Qrow breathed, “It’s been too damn long.”

James stroked Qrow’s back slowly over his cape. Qrow watched his lips as he said, “After Beacon... I wasn’t sure about  _ anything _ . I couldn’t accept the fact that we might never... you know? I’m so glad you’re here. I still can’t believe it.”

“Believe it,” Qrow said, “I went through hell to get here. I would do it again for you.  _ I’m here. _ ” Before James could speak again, warm lips were pressed against his own. Qrow reached up to hold his jaw and ran his hands through the thick beard. He broke their kiss with a smile and said, “Gonna have to get used to this. I like it, though. It’s sexy.”

James blushed. He raised his eyebrows. “You think so?”

“ _ Yes, _ ” Qrow replied, then caught James in another kiss. He tasted like skin and vanilla chapstick. Qrow reveled in the curve of James’ lips and the electricity of their tongues touching for the first time in over a year. It was something they had done a thousand times and something Qrow had thought about every single day. He felt like he was reconnected to a lifeline.

Qrow broke their kiss and smiled. Even after twenty years, James never got tired of seeing Qrow's smile (which was saying something because he was constantly tired). He had a freckle that dotted the side of his mouth, a cracked upper lip, and crooked bottom teeth. The lines under his eyes creased and James felt his heart beat faster. Qrow pressed his lips to James’ cheek, then down to his neck, brushing against the beard as he did so. His hands made their way up to the top of James’ shirt, quickly tugging at it.

James chuckled, “Right now?”

“ _ No _ , I’d rather go back to Clover’s room and wait longer, not ever knowing when we’re getting another moment alone,” Qrow joked. “You do want to..?”

“Yes, I want to. Always.”

“Good,” Qrow went back to playing with James’ buttons. They were halfway undone when James’ scroll buzzed.

A high pitched voice came through, “General Ironwood, Councilwoman Camilla is on her way up to your office for your 6 o’clock meeting.” James’ eyes went wide and he sputtered. He had completely forgotten about that.

“Oh my, we’re going to have to get you out of here,” James said, panic rising in his voice. “You can’t go through the hallway though, she’ll see you. He craned his neck looking for a place for his lover to hide. Curse his minimalistic decorating tendencies.

At once, the large door to James' office began to creak open. Qrow reacted quickly, diving behind James' chair. James hissed, "She's going to see you there, oh my--." He was cut off by Camilla's footsteps entering the room. As she approached, he was suddenly aware of a weight once again in his lap. He glanced down to see glossy black feathers. James sighed in relief now that Qrow was concealed behind his desk. Qrow bumped his head against James' stomach and nestled against him. James stroked him like he was a housecat and not a human man who he had been seeing romantically for the better part of two decades. Total mood killer.

"Good evening, Councilwoman Camilla. It's a pleasure to see you again," he shuffled some papers and pressed buttons on his scroll, "Let's get started."

The meeting went on longer than expected. Qrow grew restless, butting his head against James every few seconds. James was fighting hard not to laugh or shove the bird off of him. He scooted his chair in further. 

Finally, the meeting seemed to be winding down. Qrow was ready to stretch his legs again. He bounced up and down in James' lap. Camilla cracked her fingers and said, "Oh, I nearly forgot..." she started going on about dust and shipping again.

If Qrow could have, he would have groaned. He caught one of James' fingers in his mouth and held it there. James said, "You're right, that is something we need to discuss further..." Qrow bit down. James shook his hand away. He pursed his lips, trying desperately not to make a sound. "...at a later juncture. I would like the input of Councilman Sleet. If that's all, I suppose we should wrap this up. I have a lot to attend to. Thank you for your time."

“One more thing, General,” Camilla said with a straight face.

“Yes?” James was nervous she was going to spring into another tangent.

“Your shirt is coming undone,” she stated. A bright scarlet creeped over his face. With that, she made her leave.

As soon as the door closed, Qrow hopped up on James' desktop. He bounced around and shook his head wildly. 

"I know that was long, and I'm sorry. I appreciate you staying hidden. I would hate to have to field those questions," James explained, blood still rising in his skin. He held out a wrist and Qrow pecked at it once, then jumped on. James brought his arm up close to his face. He never got used to seeing his boyfriend as a corvid. It seemed... unnatural. He sighed. He wasn't entirely natural, either. Qrow bumped his head against James' forehead, and James smiled. Even though it wasn't natural or conventional, that didn't mean it wasn't nice. He pressed a kiss on top of Qrow's head, where two feathers always stuck up. It reminded him of the messy hair he had in his human form.

At once, the corvid had turned back into a man, the love of James' life. Yes, he was definitely in love with him. Qrow was still on his lap, with arms around his neck and legs to either side, facing him. His mouth was still on James' nose. He gave him another kiss there and burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny!” James said, but he didn’t mean it. His smile gave him away. Ordinarily, he would beat himself up to no end for a mishap like that. Right now though, he felt at peace. He hadn’t smiled so much in... well, since the last time he’d been alone with Qrow.

“Qrow?”

“Mm?” Qrow hummed, leaving a lazy kiss on James’ neck.

“Come to my quarters tonight, after eleven PM. I’m sure the Ace-Ops won’t miss you too bad.”

Qrow squeezed James in a tight embrace and chuckled, “I’ve been waiting so long to hear those words. I have one request, though.”

“Anything,” James replied.

“Can you make sure we’re going to be  _ alone _ , then?”

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are mega appreciated. stan ironqrow.
> 
> tumblr + twitter @jamesbranwen for lots of ironqrow art and edits.


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